2022 Right Hook Awards

Happy belated holidays to everyone, 2022 was quite an adventurous year for professional wrestling to say the least. So, we are going to do the first annual “Right Hook Ray Awards” pretty simple and standard categories with a random category or 2 to liven things up, so we will begin with promotion of the year.

Promotion of the Year

• Candidates: WWE, AEW, NJPW, IMPACT

Winner:  WWE

To be honest this was probably a two-promotion race for most of the year between WWE & AEW but have to admit IMPACT had strong case until the last couple of months sadly but in the end WWE won promotion of the year.

Now before good old AEW/Indy-riffic faithful come with pitchforks and torches over this decision here is why WWE won and AEW lost. AEW lost the award because of all the ridiculous, unprofessional, out of control ego driven stuff that unfortunately highlighted or overshadowed any good thing they did.

They did some good things like the Forbidden Door PPV and purchasing the ROH brand but the now infamous “Brawl Out” situation along with highly questionable investigation and handling of that matter took over anything positive AEW did as well as left a lot of people questioning if certain whispers are actually facts after all not to mention some creative issues that hopefully will be fixed in 2023.

Now the reason why WWE won the award is because regardless of what you think of the situation THERE WAS A CHANCE THAT MANY HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR! Yes the circumstances that created the change were not ideal with the Vince McMahon allegations coming to light, but it did create the long-awaited day many have dreamed of and that was Vince McMahon out of the wrestling side of the business and Triple H now in.

Since August Triple H has done a ton of resetting, fine tuning, and ton of goodwill with all the fans from the dedicated to the skeptical ones all have given WWE a second chance and haven’t been totally disappointed. From the wave of returns of released talent coming back in major ways, to acknowledging the world of wrestling outside of WWE, the change in verbiage and tweak to visual presentation totally put WWE in the forefront of the year and deserving of this award and we can’t wait to see what is next in 2023.

Shocking Return/Debut of the Year

• Candidates:  Cody Rhodes, Saraya, Bray Wyatt, Sami Callihan, Karrion Kross

Winner:  Cody Rhodes & Bray Wyatt

Again, before the perception is driven that this is a pro WWE award thing you will be absolutely wrong, but the obvious shocking return or in this scenario returns of 2022 were Cody Rhodes returning to WWE at Wrestlemania night one and Bray Wyatt at Extreme Rules. The returns of these two stars were unexpected especially in the case of Cody Rhodes who just a month or so before was AEW TV as their TNT champion only to not only appear on WWE TV but at Wrestlemania to a prodigal son’s return and run before getting injured at the start of the summer.

Bray Wyatt’s return was highly suspected and hopeful considering at that time the number returns under Triple H was frequent but still no one knew for sure until the White Rabbit clues began to appear and then the end of Extreme Rules is one of the more memorable things of the year when Wyatt returned and gave the fans a goodwill gesture they have dying for since unreasonable release a year before.

Tag Team of the Year

• Candidates: FTR, The Acclaimed, The Usos, The Briscoes

Winner: The Usos

This was a literal toss up but in the end I went with the Ones the Usos who simply dominated and somehow leveled up this year becoming the undisputed tag team champs having a record setting reign in the process. FTR of course had an excellent case but unfortunately their lack of proper presentation and airtime, which is not their fault, had them come short to the Usos. FTR had amazing matches everywhere except their main promotion for perceived reasons unexplained (Jealously maybe) in AEW.

While the Usos were front and center with the Bloodline where they were a main event level attraction that great matches with the Street Profits, Brawling Brutes, New Day, and RK-Bro showcasing themselves, their opponents and giving hope to division that may be saved after all. Hopefully 2023 will bring us more amazing tag team wrestling across the board but 2022 was the year of the Usos.

Male Wrestler of the Year

• Candidates: Roman Reigns, Jon Moxley, Seth Rollins, MJF, CM Punk, Josh Alexander

Winner: Roman Reigns

How fitting that it was a toss-up between 2 former members of the SHIELD to decide male wrestler of the year. As admirable as Moxley’s year was, the Tribal Chief wins the award for continuing his historic championship reign, unifying the titles, and keeping them against all comers from Drew McIntyre to even Logan Paul (No that’s not a typo). Reigns may not have been in the ring as much as we are used to, but his matches were big deals when he did fight, topping off his year with a win in his first War Games match with the Bloodline ensured this award for Reigns.

Female Wrestler of the Year

• Candidates: Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill, Toni Storm, Jordynne Grace

Winner:  Jade Cargill

As much as I am a massive Bianca Belair fan and she had an amazing year which may lead to a multi-year run personally, but Jade Cargill’s 2022 was a massive leap leaving the possibilities to be endless with her. Her undefeated streak remained intact, her matches got better little by little, and her promise is undeniable. Sooner or later AEW is going to have inject her into Women’s championship picture somehow in order for her to be future star or their Bianca Belair ironically going forward but 2022 was the year of Jade by a slight margin.

Workhorse of the Year

• Candidates: Jon Moxley (AEW), GUNTHER (WWE), “Speedball” Mike Bailey (IMPACT)

Winner:  Jon Moxley

Sure, you can say the award was made specifically for Jon Moxley because he deserved an award after this banner year he had in 2022. Now I wasn’t a fan of Moxley’s outside excursions for GZW and the matches that happened with him, but Mox was Mr. Dependable especially for AEW whenever there was an injury or major setback it was break glass for Moxley. Returning from Rehab early in the year and was nonstop for 2022 including becoming the first 3-time AEW champion, leading a new faction with Blackpool Combat Club, and week in, week out having matches on Dynamite, Rampage or both earning this award easily.

Match of the Year

• Candidates: Okada vs. Ospreay (Wrestle Kingdom 16), Gunther vs. Sheamus (Clash at the Castle), Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins (Hell in a Cell), FTR vs. Briscoes 2, CM Punk vs. MJF (Dog Collar Match), Josh Alexander vs. Eddie Edwards (Bound for Glory)

Winner: CM Punk vs. MJF (Dog Collar Match)

This was insanely tough because all the candidates would be a winner regardless which is a good sign for Wrestling honestly, but the CM Punk vs. MJF dog collar match at AEW Revolution was incredible. The build up to the match was absolutely great then the match lived up to if not exceeded expectations for some and definitely set a standard for main events in AEW that had to follow that match. Hopefully this is not the end of this budding rivalry, but we have to wait and see what is coming next with those two stars.